Grey Sky Morning
by rachemgreep
Summary: Lizzie, Gordo, and Miranda head off to summer camp. What adventures are in store for everyone's favorite trio? LG
1. Camp Meadowlake

Lizzie flipped on her stereo and flung herself on her bed with a grin. It was finally summer! She felt like she had been waiting for summer to come for ages. And at exactly 3:00 pm, after school had ended, it officially started. She stared up at her ceiling thinking about how she was going to camp this summer with Miranda. Gordo had waited too long to sign up and wasn't able to go. Lizzie was bummed about this, thinking about all the great previous summers the three had spent together, but Lizzie knew that Gordo would be having fun in North Carolina all summer, visiting some old family friends on the beach. As long as she knew he was happy and going to be having a good time, she was happy.

"Lizzie!" Jo McGuire called from downstairs. With the music blaring, Lizzie couldn't hear her mother calling her name. She kept shouting, but Lizzie was totally oblivious. As she was daydreaming about the great summer she would be having Gordo walked in.

"Gordo!" Lizzie yelled over the music, "What are you doing here?"

"What!" Gordo screamed.

"What are you doing here?" Lizzie yelled as she ran over to the stereo to turn it off. "What are you doing here?" she asked quietly.

"Ok, you'll never believe who just called my house."

"Who?"

"Camp Meadowlake! I'm going! Some kid came down with rickets or something, and I got his spot!"

"You're coming to camp with us? Oh my god, I can't believe this! This is so great! I mean not for the rickets kid, but, wait, what are rickets anyway?"

"I dunno"

"Oh this is so great! We're gonna have the best summer ever! So you're not going to the beach?"

"No, my mom said I didn't have to go. Wow, I'm glad you're so excited about this. I thought you and Miranda already had this all planned out without me."

"Summer would be nothing without you," Lizzie said with a smile.

Gordo smiled. "Thanks McGuire. Well, I gotta get going, maybe go pack or something, and call Miranda about the good news!"

"Yeah, I'll see ya!" Lizzie jumped around the room shouting. She was bubbling with excitement and couldn't sit still. "Gordo's coming! Gordo's coming!" She hopped on her bed and jumped up and down waving her arms above her head. She couldn't stop thinking about what an amazing summer they all would have. She couldn't wait for it to start.

"I can't believe we're here!" Miranda Sanchez shouted with excitement from the McGuire's car.

"Yeah, it looks so cool, but I've never been to camp before. I'm kinda nervous," Lizzie said apprehensively.

"What about me? You get to bunk with Miranda! I've got to bunk wherever the rickets kid was supposed to be."

"Come on you guys, this is going to be so much fun! Stop being such downers!" Miranda told them.

Lizzie knew Miranda was right. She looked out the window as her father drove through the winding road. She spotted the beautiful lake and knew that she would be having some great times there in the upcoming months. It finally hit her that she was going to be spending all summer with her two best friends and her nervous feeling started going away. When Sam pulled up to the parking lot, the three kids got out of the car slowly, admiring the beautiful foliage above them. "Wow this place is gorgeous," Lizzie breathed.

"Come on come on come on, let's get our stuff!" Miranda said excitedly. The kids dragged their bags and trunks out of the back of the minivan. They looked around them at all the other kids saying goodbye to their parents. Lizzie didn't recognize anyone from school, and she started getting nervous again. They made their way over to the stage where the head counselors were giving people a welcome. They sat down on the benches with Sam and Jo and waited for it to start.

"Hello! And welcome to Camp Meadowlake," a tall young man said. "This is going to be an awesome summer filled with adventure, new friends, lots of learning experiences, new opportunities, but most of all, fun!" Some of the kids started cheering.

"This is so lame," Gordo said.

"Shut up, Gordo! Let me listen." Miranda said.

"We know this may be a whole new experience to some of you, so before we get too into detail, we want to get you situated in your cabins, so you can meet some of your new friends. Cabins are NOT co-ed!" Sighs of disappointment were heard through the crowd. The counselor continued, "As usual you will have two groups, your cabin group, and your activities group and you will be doing things with each group. So, we want you to get to know them all as soon as possible. Well, let's get going. Boys over here, and girls over there," the counselor said pointing to the opposite sides of the stage.

"I guess this is it, Lizzie," Mrs. McGuire said. "Come here," Jo said giving her a big hug.

"Mom, please."

"Oh Lizzie, have fun. I'm going to miss you. And I'm going to miss you guys too," Mrs. McGuire said to Gordo and Miranda. "Goodbye you guys." Jo gave Lizzie a huge hug.

"Bye mom. I'll miss you too."

"Bye Mr. and Mrs. McGuire," Gordo and Miranda said in unison.

"Bye guys. Bye Lizzie. You be good for the counselors."

"Dad!" Lizzie said annoyed. "Bye."

Jo and Sam walked off to their car, and Lizzie couldn't help but feel a little bit sad. She knew she was supposed to be grown up, but she didn't know what she was going to do without them for the whole summer.


	2. Bunkmates

Lizzie and Miranda walked over to the mob of girls, waving goodbye to Gordo.   
  
"We'll see you soon Gordo!" Lizzie and Miranda yelled to him.  
  
"Yeah, hopefully," Gordo muttered.   
  
"Girls! Girls! Settle down!" a voice commanded.  
  
Lizzie and Miranda tugged at their bags impatiently, waiting for what seemed like forever. Finally a girl came up and said, "Hi, I'm Rachel! I'm the counselor for cabin eight! I'd like to welcome: Jessie Alasdair, Crystal Harris, Lizzie McGuire, Jenna Palmer, Charlotte Rizetto, and who else, oh, Miranda Sanchez!"  
  
"Yes!!" Miranda and Lizzie squealed. The started jumping up and down hardly able to contain themselves. The other girls stared at them. "Ok, Lizzie, be cool," Miranda whispered. Rachel walked them over to cabin eight. It was set on a small hill filled with pine trees.  
  
"OK, girls. How do you want to do this? Usually I pull names out of a hat to assign beds."  
  
"Umm excuse me, but I am not sleeping on the top bunk. I need to be on the bottom. I reminds me of my canopy bed at home," one of the girls said.   
  
"Alright then, aren't you a peach. You're Jessie, right?" Counselor Rachel said.   
  
"I would have bet a thousand bucks it would be Kate," Lizzie whispered to Miranda. The girls started giggling.  
  
"Excuse me, what's so funny little blond girl?" Jessie asked them as Lizzie and Miranda made a face. "Well anyway, yes, I am Jessie, and this is my friend Jenna, and we need to bunk together."   
  
"Ok then, do we have any objections to that?" Rachel asked. "No? Alright then. How about Jessie and Jenna get the bunk-bed on the right, Lizzie and Miranda, you get the bunks on the left. And Charlotte and Crystal can have those bunk-beds on the back wall. Is that ok?"  
  
"Sure!" Lizzie said and she dragged he stuff into the cabin. Miranda followed right behind her.  
  
"Ew this place is so small!" Jessie exclaimed.   
  
"Hey Jessie, is your last name Sanders by any chance?" Miranda asked.  
  
"What? No. What are you talking about?" Jessie snapped back.  
  
"Nothing!" Miranda and Lizzie giggled.  
  
"Listen you two, I've had about enough of you. You better watch your backs," Jessie asserted to them.  
  
"Come on girls! I don't want to hear this anymore. I'm not going to spend the entire summer listening to you all bickering!" Rachel shouted.  
  
"Come on Jenna, we're gonna go get some fresh air. Who needs to unpack when we're going to be packing it up again in six weeks anyway!" Jessie said storming out.  
  
"Wow, what a delight they are," Charlotte said as soon as the two girls left.  
  
"Well the one girl doesn't even talk!" Crystal said laughing.  
  
"Hey you're right," Lizzie said, "You guys seem pretty cool. I'm Lizzie, this is Miranda."  
  
"I'm Charlotte, this is Crystal."  
  
"Well I'm glad some of you are getting along! I didn't know what I was going to do! I've never had girls storm out like that, and I'm not even supposed to chase after them because you are 'big girls' now. I mean, I love working here so I can come to camp again, because I'm nineteen, too old to be a camper. Camp is just so much fun, you know, and I hate when one girl ruins it for the rest." Rachel said to the girls. Lizzie thought that Rachel seemed really cool. She was looking forward getting to know Rachel better through the summer.  
  
"Well there's an ice cream social going on down near the main pavillion. Wanna get going?" Rachel asked.  
  
The girls agreed and they started walking through the orange pine needles to the bottom of the hill. They looked at some of the other girls cabins around them that weren't too far away. The boys cabins were across the camp. Lizzie was getting anxious to see Gordo. She just wanted to see a friendly face.  
  
"Gordo!" Lizzie shouted running toward him. "Hey, how are you liking it so far?"  
  
"It's been pretty fun. My cabin has some cool guys in it. I thought they would be all losers or something, but they seem pretty normal," Gordo replied.  
  
"Oh yeah, same here," Lizzie said, "Except for these two girls. Oh my god, they were so rude! They even left and didn't even unpack their stuff. But I like the counselor; she seems cool." The three friends walked to get some ice cream, they mingled a little with some of the kids they met from their cabins, but Lizzie felt a little awkward the whole time and stayed by Miranda's side.   
  
"So who's your friend over there?" Charlotte asked. "He's kinda cute."  
  
"Really? Cute? Huh. That's Gordo," Lizzie told her.  
  
"Ok, cool, maybe I'll sit next to him at the campfire tonight." Charlotte said, walking away.  
  
"Jeez, she's very quick," Miranda said.  
  
"Yeah tell me about it," Lizzie said looking over at Gordo who was talking to some guys. Cute? Gordo? No, he was more endearing, she thought, finishing her ice cream.   
  
"Come on, let's go find some sticks for marshmallows," Miranda said grabbing Lizzie's arm. Lizzie followed her, with her head turned back to Gordo. She still didn't get what Charlotte saw in him. 


	3. Campfire Stories

Within an hour, the sky starting getting dark. Miranda, Lizzie, and Gordo were all huddled up together by the huge campfire. They all had sticks ready, but no one was in the mood for roasting marshmallows. Some kids started telling ghost stories, but the three of them weren't even listening.   
  
"These ghost stories are so awful!" Gordo complained.  
  
"Well then why don't you go up there and tell one?" Miranda asked.  
  
"Who me?"  
  
"Yeah you!" Lizzie encouraged, "Come on, you should!"  
  
"Alright, alright, after this kid." After the kid was done babbling, Gordo walked to the front. "Hey everyone. Um, I'm Gordo, and this is a true story. Happened to my cousin. Ok so my cousin, Emmie, went to a summer camp, kind of like this one. This was a few years ago, she's older than me. Well early on in the day thunder started rumbling in the distance, so the camp closed all water activities. Then it started to rain, so they told the kids just to go back to their cabins. Well, Emmie went back to her cabin that she shared with two other girls. The girls played poker for candy and talked about which boys they thought were cute, and had pillowfights, you know the usual girl stuff."   
  
"Yeah right, we're always having pillowfights," Miranda muttered to Lizzie, rolling her eyes.   
  
"It was getting pretty late," Gordo went on, "so Emmie's bunkmates went to sleep. But Emmie couldn't sleep; the storm was just too loud. Well, pretty soon, the storm started getting worse. Lightning was flashing every few seconds and the cracks of thunder shook the cabin. All of a sudden she heard something bang her window. She just thought it was a tree. Then she heard footsteps in the mud right on the other side of the wall. The footsteps sounded like they were running, round and round the house. Then CRACK! The thunder cracked really loud and the two lights went dead. She reached for her flashlight but she couldn't find it. The footsteps were getting louder and louder, and faster and faster, like some maniac. She started hearing soft voices outside. It sounded like they were calling her name. 'Emmmm-iiiiiiie, Emmmm-ieeeee.' She thought about waking the other girls, but she didn't want to seem like baby if she was imagining it," Gordo looked over at Lizzie who was clutching onto Miranda. "She tried looking out the window, but she couldn't see anything. She just heard these footsteps. Then the footsteps slowed down. In sounded like something heavy was being dragged through the mud. Ok, so then she heard these huge knocks on the door, like POW POW POW! Emmie was really scared, but the other girls hadn't woken up. The pounding sounded again, and again. Emmie was extremely scared, but she went over to the door to see what was going on. She thought maybe someone was coming to save her. So she went to the door, swung it open, and there was bunkmate-dead-with mud all down her back." The kids started screaming. " Emmie screamed bloody murder, and a bunch of counselors came running, and her other roomate woke up. But they could never figure out who had killed the girl, or how the girl had gotten out of the cabin without Emmie even noticing. It's a true story, honest." Gordo bowed and the kids cheered. Modestly, he walked over and sat next to Lizzie. "Was that scary?"  
  
"Omigod yes! Please tell me that wasn't a true story!" Lizzie said trembling.  
  
Gordo leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "it wasn't true. But don't tell anyone." Lizzie shivered. She liked having Gordo near her. He made her feel safe and secure, like she was home. He was home to her.  
  
"Good story Gordo!" Charlotte said, "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"  
  
"No, sure, go ahead."  
  
"I'm Charlotte."  
  
"I'm Gordo, but you already seem to know that," he said dryly.  
  
"Yeah. So Lizzie, and Miranda, have you seen those two brats again, what were there names? Oh right, Jenna and Jessie," Charlotte asked them.  
  
"No, we haven't seen them. They're probably hanging out with some people they think are better than us or something," Miranda told her.  
  
"Good I hope so, I don't want to have to do activities with them!" Charlotte exclaimed.  
  
"Yeah me neither," Lizzie said shaking her head.  
  
"So Gordo-" Charlotte started to say, but she was cut off by a counselor.  
  
"Alright kiddies! Bedtime! Come on let's go!"   
  
"Well I guess I'll see you later, Gordo," Charlotte said.  
  
They all said their goodbyes to Gordo. "Are you going to be alright Lizzie? I didn't mean to scare you," Gordo said.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine," she told him. Gordo winked at her and they went back to their cabins. Lizzie felt special that she was the only one who knew the story wasn't real. Gordo had cared that much about me to ruin the story just so I wouldn't feel scared, Lizzie thought. Lizzie walked back with Miranda and Charlotte to the cabin. She was glad she came to camp. 


	4. Lizzie's Mistake

Lizzie and Miranda were laughing and giggling while walking back to their cabin. They were beginning to forget about the story Gordo had told at the campfire. When they reached the front porch of the small cabin, they noticed long streaks of mud and mud footprints all over the wooden floor.   
  
  
  
"Ok, very funny, is this some kind of joke?" The counselor Rachel asked. Lizzie, Miranda, Charlotte and Crystal all shook their heads with their eyes wide. Lizzie started getting really scared, her ears started getting really hot, and slowly she could feel her palms beginning to sweat. Maybe the story had been true and Gordo had told her otherwise just so she would feel better. "Where are Jessie and Jenna at?" Rachel demanded. "I will not tolerate practical jokes. You guys stay here, I'm going to go get someone."  
  
"It's gotta be those two girls," Miranda said walking into the cabin. Miranda noticed Lizzie looking frightened. "Are you ok, Lizzie? Come on it was just a story."   
  
"I don't know about that. Gordo said it was real," Charlotte told them matter-of-factly.  
  
"Gordo-I mean-he told me not to say anything but-" Lizzie started.   
  
"But what?" Crystal asked.  
  
"But-but-" Lizzie saw how scared Charlotte looked. She wanted to say it was all made up, but she couldn't. She couldn't ruin Gordo's story. "But-he said he really liked when you sat next to him!" She lied.  
  
"Omigod, did he really!" Charlotte's face lit up.   
  
  
  
"Umm sure," Lizzie said. Oh God, why did I say that, Lizzie thought, why did I say that? Lizzie wished she had kept her big mouth shut. She thought they would probably start going out, and probably get married, and then her whole summer would be ruined. She felt so awful for blurting out that lie. Lizzie sat down on her bed and put her hands in her face. She couldn't bear to look at Charlotte, who was completely effervescent.   
  
"Omigod what's that mud doing out there! It's just like that little afro-kid's story!" Jessie said as she came through the door with Jenna.  
  
"Where have you been?" Crystal asked.  
  
"Um, what's it to ya?" Jenna asked.  
  
"Ooh she talks!" Miranda yelled.  
  
"Did you hear me?" Jessie asked them. "We're gonna be killed and dragged through the mud!"  
  
"Yeah sure, we all know you did it," Miranda said.  
  
"Yeah right, I bet you did it! You're friends with the little afro-kid!" Jessie yelled at her.  
  
"Come on, Miranda, don't pay any attention to them," Lizzie said.   
  
"I bet it was you, little blond girl!" Jessie yelled. Lizzie could feel her blood boiling. She slowly started counting to ten in her head. 1-2-3... She hadn't been this mad since Matt tried to flush her underwear down the toilet and made it overflow, not to mention it turned all her underwear blue. Not only am I away from my parents and I'm going to be killed by some mud guy, Lizzie thought, but I just ruined my summer by telling this Charlotte girl that Gordo likes her, which is completely made up, and now, now this? She continued counting, 4-5-6...but she couldn't take it.  
  
"OKAY FIRST OFF my name is LIZZIE! Liz...zie," she said slowly as if they wouldn't understand. "Got it? Second, yes, I AM friends with the afro-kid, and his name is GORDO! Thirdly, I have nothing to do with the mud outside. You were the ones who came in late, so it's very natural for us to suspect that you were the ones who did it! Fourth, I can't take the fighting! I am not going to spend my entire summer fighting with you guys! If you don't like us, at least you can respect us! Maybe we'll get along! And fifth..." Wow, I'm on roll, she thought. She wanted to tell Charlotte that Gordo did NOT like her, but for some reason she couldn't. She seemed so happy, and she didn't want to take it away from her. "And fifth, there is no fifth. Thank you."  
  
"Well done, McGuire," Rachel said walking through the door. "Maybe you knocked some sense into them. And I see you two made it back," Rachel said nodding to Jessie and Jenna. "Whoever did this better have it cleaned up by noon tomorrow. And that's a direct order from the head counselor! I don't mean to seem like a total PMS mommy, but you girls need to stop! This is only the first day!" So lights out!"  
  
Lizzie quickly got into bed. She felt so proud that she had done that. If felt so good to get everything out that had been bottling up inside of her. Rarely could she do something like that, and it made her feel incredibly proud. Someone had provoked her, and she had done what a normal person does, gotten mad. It seemed so simple, but it made her feel a whole lot better. She forgot all about the mud, and Charlotte, and Gordo as she drifted to sleep.  
  
The next morning Rachel woke them all up at seven o'clock. There was much complaining, but Lizzie tried to block it out. She wasn't going to let anyone ruin her camp experience anymore, not even herself. After breakfast, the kids were first introduced into their activities groups, the groups that they would be spending the majority of the summer with. Rachel got up to announce her group.  
  
"Ok, I'm Rachel as some of you may know, and my group will be: David Gordon, Lizzie McGuire, Charlotte Rizetto, Miranda Sanchez, and Ian Taylor. I see that some of you are from my cabin! Yay!"  
  
"Gordo!!" Lizzie yelled running to him. "Oh yay this is going to be so much fun!" The group quickly got together, and they introduced themselves.  
  
"Oh he's cute," Lizzie whispered to Miranda after Ian had introduced himself. Miranda agreed with a little nod as she stared at him. Ian was tall and blond with blue eyes. Far cuter than Ethan, Lizzie decided.   
  
"Our first activity as a group will be a hike to the top of Black Bear Mountain. We'll meet back here in 20 minutes. Remember to bring boots, water..." As Rachel rattled off her long list of necessary hiking utensils, Lizzie and Miranda stared at Ian. He was just standing there, so cute, looking at Rachel. "...and don't forget a buddy!" Rachel concluded.  
  
"Oh you're my buddy!" Miranda and Lizzie said to each other.   
  
"Oh great what about me?" Gordo asked.  
  
"You can be mine!" Charlotte said enthusiastically. Oh good for you, Lizzie thought sarcastically.   
  
"Ok then, Ian, I guess you're mine!" Rachel told him.  
  
"Alright!" Ian shouted giddily.   
  
They all went back to their cabins to get their hiking gear, not realizing what would be facing them on the mountain.... 


	5. The Wilderness

The group stood at the bottom of the mountain, ready to make the first step towards the top. Lizzie stared at the path. It didn't look too steep; she knew she could conquer this. She looked at the trail marker on the tree.   
  
"3.4 miles!" She whined, "I've never even walked 3.4 miles on flat ground!"  
  
"Come on, Lizzie, this is going to be fun," Rachel reassured her, "I wouldn't take you on this trail if I knew you all couldn't do it."  
  
The group began walking up the trail. It was easy enough at first, just put on foot in front of the other. After a little while it was obvious that Ian was an experienced hiker, as he astutely lead the group up some of the tricky parts. Lizzie and Rachel hung in the back, making sure no one was left behind,  
  
"So what do you think of your buddy, Ian?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Oh, he's a nice kid," Rachel responded, "sure knows his way around a mountain."  
  
"I mean do you think he's cute?" Lizzie persisted.  
  
"Lizzie! That's so..." Rachel started.  
  
"Illegal?"  
  
  
  
"I was going to say wrong, but yeah!" They started laughing.   
  
"I was just joking, Rach," Lizzie said with a giggle.  
  
"I think you're the one who likes him, McGuire," Rachel said with a wink in her eye.  
  
"Me? Nuh-uh," Lizzie said, "come on, let's catch up to the rest of them." Lizzie bolted ahead. Lizzie did not like Ian. At least she didn't think she did. Hell, she barely knew the kid. She hadn't spoke one word to him since she met him.   
  
"Hey Gordo," Lizzie said, coming up from behind him, "Where's...your...buddy?" Lizzie was completely out of breath from trying to catch up.   
  
"Charlotte? I think she's up with Miranda. So, ya having fun?"   
  
"Sure, a blast," Lizzie said, relieved that Charlotte wasn't with Gordo. She couldn't figure out why, but she really resented Charlotte. She wanted to keep her away from Gordo for as long as possible. Just then, Lizzie stepped on a loose rock, and she fell to the ground. "Crap!" Lizzie shouted.   
  
Gordo reached down and pulled her up, making sure she was okay. Lizzie was okay, but her bag was not; it had slid down a steep hill to the right of the trail. Lizzie wished she could turn back time for 5 seconds and hold on to her bag. It's like when you knock over something really valuable, and just watch it shatter. 5 seconds ago it was whole, and if only you could turn back, you could make it stay whole forever. But the bag was down the steep embankment and it was slowly sliding and there was nothing Lizzie could do. All the other kids and Rachel were no where to be seen. Gordo and Lizzie began shouting their names.   
  
"Where are they?" Gordo asked. "Are we that far behind, or are we really ahead?"  
  
"I don't know! Gordo, what am I going to do? I need that bag! My camera is in it, and that cost my mom lots of money!" Lizzie said, panicking.   
  
"I could give you my camera," Gordo offered.  
  
"Thanks Gordo, but I need that camera. My camera. Where is Miranda? She's supposed to be my buddy!" Lizzie said frantically.  
  
"Don't worry about that, Lizzie. She's not here, I am. And I'm going to help you." Gordo reassured her. They crouched down and began inching down the edge sideways. Slowly they made their way down, careful not to fall, going towards their goal. If they didn't make it, what would they do? Ever inching toward a goal, and never reaching it. What do you do then? Lizzie braced herself on a tree, and Gordo took a stick and tried to grab it. The leaves beneath his feet began slipping, but he held on to Lizzie. Gordo reached farther for it, and with the tip of the twig, he slipped it through the strap, and began pulling it back.  
  
"Thank you so much Gordo!" Lizzie shouted grabbing the bag. "Now how are we going to get back up?"  
  
"We could crawl," Gordo suggested.  
  
"We could, I guess." Lizzie said hesitantly. They tried taking small steps up the hill, grabbing onto whatever they could-trees, weeds, seedings, and old logs. "Gordo, this isn't working!" Lizzie told him as she starting sliding farther down.  
  
"Yeah, I know," Gordo said reluctantly, "I guess we should walk that way a little and then see if this edge gets less steep." They began walking in that direction, careful not to fall down the hill. Lizzie suddenly realized how brave Gordo had become. She even felt a little inadequate compared to him. He was so much stronger than she was emotionally. She realized how much Gordo was growing on this trip, and how she was still the same Lizzie. She wanted to figure out who she was before this trip was over. After a few minutes, the hill became less steep so they walked back up.   
  
"Um Gordo?" Lizzie started. "Where's the trail?"  
  
"I...don't know." Gordo said nervously.  
  
"Oh my god! Where are we? Rachel! Miranda!" She shouted. "Gordo, have you ever been lost in the woods before? What are we going to do?"  
  
"Lizzie, calm down. Just stay calm. Here, have a cookie," he said.   
  
"Gordo! This is no time for cookies!"  
  
"Come on, McGuire, take it!"  
  
"Okay. Thanks. Well, I don't see any trail markers at all. We could go back the way we came, and see where the path went," Lizzie said calmy.  
  
"No, look, the hill's to steep, we wouldn't be able to see up to the trail," Gordo said.  
  
"Yeah, you're right. Let's just stay here until someone finds us," Lizzie said, sitting down next to Gordo. Lizzie looked through her bag- a camera, lip gloss, and a visor.  
  
"That's all you brought?" Gordo said, as he emptied the contents of his bag- 2 water bottles, cookies, trail mix, a whistle, a poncho, sunscreen, matches, a throw blanket, a sweater, a change of socks, a knife, rope, and some odds and ends. "Always be prepared," Gordo said smiling.  
  
"I guess so!" Lizzie agreed.  
  
"It's not so bad being lost with you Lizzie," Gordo said laughing.  
  
"Aww, Gordo, being lost with you isn't so bad either. Now why don't you give that whistle a try." Lizzie told him. He blew the whistle three times, and they waited. Within 10 minutes Lizzie started shivering.  
  
"Cold? Here," Gordo said wrapping his blanket around the two of them. Want me to build you a fire?" Gordo joked.  
  
"No, thanks, Gordo," Lizzie laughed. Lizzie was trying to act calm, but deep down she was incredibly scared. The only thought that was keeping her calm was the fact that Gordo was with her, and he knew what he was doing. If only Lizzie knew what she was doing. 


	6. Lost

Note: I want to explain the title. To me, "Gray Sky Morning" means even the sweetest of things have their downsides, their pitfalls. Morning is a renewal, a bright pureness. But even mornings can be gray and lonely, and have something painful lurking beneath.   
  
Lizzie and Gordo sat in the leaves back to back waiting for someone to show up. Gordo blew his whistle again to see if anyone would hear them. Gordo sang camp songs to ease Lizzie's fears. They waited for what seemed like hours and it was starting to get dark out. It wasn't that late, but the tall trees blocked out the light and made it seem much later.   
  
"What was that?" Lizzie said, jumping at a noise.  
  
"Probably...just a squirrel," Gordo said.  
  
"Oh, okay," Lizzie said. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "Gordo, I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I should have just forgotten about the stupid bag."  
  
"No, it's fine."  
  
"No it's not, we're lost Gordo! In the woods! At night!"  
  
"Lizzie, you've just gotta roll with the punches."  
  
"Roll with the punches?" Lizzie said turning around. "This is like a full body slam. How can you be so calm all the time?"  
  
"Lizzie! Gordo!" They heard Miranda's familiar voice calling.   
  
A huge wave of relief passed over the both of them. "We're over here!" Lizzie shouted. Lizzie and Gordo swiftly got up and brushed off their backsides. They gathered their stuff, and started running toward the sound of Miranda's voice. "Miranda! Oh my god, I'm so glad to see you!" Lizzie exclaimed with pure joy. The three friends embraced, and they made their way over to the other campers.   
  
"Where were you guys?" Rachel asked sternly.  
  
"I'm sorry, I dropped my bag, and I made Gordo go down and get it with me, and then we couldn't get back up...and we had to go all the way around, and we couldn't find the trail..." Lizzie explained.  
  
"Lizzie, Lizzie, it's not your fault, don't worry about it, we're fine," Gordo said.  
  
"Well you two had me worried sick! But I'm so glad you are okay! We were searching for about two hours! It's all my fault. I should have kept a better eye on you." Rachel told them.   
  
The group made their way back to camp. Lizzie and Gordo were pretty shaken up, and they didn't speak the whole way back. However, Ian was regaling them with fascinating stories of his previous journeys through the wilderness, complete with animal sounds. Miranda was smitten.  
  
When the group got back, they went straight to the mess hall for dinner. Leftover surprise. Great. Miranda, Gordo, and Lizzie secured a table together, with Charlotte and Crystal right behind them.  
  
"Are you guys ok?" Charlotte asked.  
  
"Um yeah I guess," Lizzie said, "I'm gonna go use the phone. Gordo, want to come with?"  
  
Gordo and Lizzie got up to use the pay phone near the restrooms.  
  
"Do you want some privacy?" Gordo asked.  
  
"No stay. Please," Lizzie said, dialing the phone.  
  
"Mommy!!" Lizzie shouted over the phone. "Everything's pretty good....the food is not...yeah Miranda and I have the same bunk...the bunkmates are not so nice. There are these mean ones named Jenna and Jessie. And then I thought Crystal and Charlotte were nice. Well Crystals nice, but Charlotte..." Lizzie looked at Gordo, "well she's pretty nice too. But mom, today, Gordo and I got lost in the woods! I was so scared! Yeah mom, we're fine....yes.....yes mom! Gordo was my hero." Lizzie laughed. "No, Mom, don't come pick me up...Mom I gotta go, I hear the music starting outside. Say hi to Dad for me. And Gordo says hi too! Ok...ok...bye mom!"  
  
"I'm your hero, huh?" Gordo teased.  
  
"Shut up!" Lizzie giggled.  
  
"What's so bad about Charlotte?" Gordo questioned her.  
  
"Oh, nothing really. She can be a bit much."  
  
"Yeah," he said smiling.  
  
The two of them walked out into the hall passing a room where a lot of shouting was going on. They couldn't help but listen in.  
  
"I was searching all over the place!" Rachel's voice said sobbing. "I thought I had everyone together, but the next thing I know they were gone!"  
  
"You should have all of them in plain eyesight! All 5 of them!" The head counselor, Alissa shouted  
  
"I know, but they go all different speeds. Some are more athletic than me! I'm really trying, you know. They had me so worried. I love those kids. It won't happen again!"  
  
"You're right. It won't happen again. Because you're fired," Alissa said sternly.  
  
Lizzie barged through the door. "Wait no! I'm sorry for listening in, but you can't fire her." Rachel and Gordo shot her glances. "She's trying hard. Please don't fire her, Alissa. Please? We were the ones who wandered of the trail, and she found us again! It was our fault."  
  
"Excuse me, but I've made my decision." Alissa said.  
  
"Come on, kids get lost a lot. What if she hadn't found us? You'd still fire her?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Well, ok, one more chance," Alissa said reluctantly.  
  
Rachel started crying some more and hugged Lizzie. Oh great, what did she just do. I actually pled for a basketcase counselor, Lizzie thought. However the proud look on Gordo's face made it all seem better. Lizzie quickly walked back to the table with Gordo.   
  
"That was great, Lizzie, you're really brave," Gordo told her.  
  
"I'm brave? You're the one who saved me in the woods. Without you I probably would have wandered to Canada."  
  
"You know if I had to get lost with anyone, my choice would be you," Gordo told her.  
  
Lizzie smiled. Getting lost was awful, but it wasn't all bad. 


	7. The New Camper

The next day, everything felt so new, so different. Lizzie got out of bed before anyone else. She looked at Rachel. She felt sorry for Rachel. She had told Miranda what had happened and they thought maybe Rachel wasn't really cut out for counseling. But, they promised to give Rachel a second chance. Maybe she would be good afterall.  
  
  
  
Lizzie slipped on her slippers that Miranda and Gordo had given to her for her birthday. She stepped out of the cabin and walked around to the back and looked at the sky. She wanted to reach out and touch it. It flowed endlessly along the water of Meadow Lake. Lizzie wished this moment could last forever. But pretty soon the revile was playing and all the campers got up.  
  
After breakfast they got in their activities groups to go canoeing. Lizzie was beyond excited. She couldn't wait to get out on the water.  
  
"We have a new camper with us today," Rachel announced. She stepped to the side and revealed the new camper. "This is Larry Tudgeman!"  
  
"Tudgeman!" Miranda shouted in disgust.  
  
"Tudgeman!" Lizzie gasped  
  
  
  
"Tudgeman!" Gorod groaned.  
  
"Gordo! I mean Tudgeman! Wait, who's Tudgeman?" Charlotte asked.  
  
"That's right, I'm back, and I'm rickets free," Tudgeman exclaimed triumphantly.  
  
"Oh so you've met?" Rachel asked.  
  
"Once or twice," Miranda snarled.  
  
"Great! I'm sure you'll all get along!" Rachel said.  
  
"So you're the one with the rickets. Great. I was in your spot. Does this mean I go home?" Gordo asked.  
  
"No sir, but I am in your bunk," Larry said.  
  
"Great," Gordo said sarcastically. "So, what are rickets anyway?"  
  
"They're like these things, that chirp at night and stuff," Ian inputted.  
  
"Hardly. It's a vitamin D deficiency, my friends," Larry said matter-of-factly.  
  
"That's weird," Lizzie said.  
  
"You're weird," Larry retorted.   
  
Lizzie snorted in disgust. They began walking to the docks. The water was calm today, great for beginners, and the canoes were lined up along the shed.  
  
"Ok, kids, pick your partners! Must be Co-ed" Rached said cheerfully.  
  
Lizzie quickly grabbed Gordo. There was no way she was going to let Charlotte have him again.   
  
"Mirrrr-an-da!" Tudgeman said gleefully before Miranda could get to Ian.  
  
"Ugh!" Miranda shouted.  
  
The kids carefully pulled the canoes off the side of the shed, and carried them over their heads to the dock. The dock swayed a little under all of the weight, but they managed to get the canoes in the water. After they got their life-vests on they seated themselves in their boats. Charlotte and Miranda looked decidedly disappointed, for not getting their partner of choice. Tudgeman looked decidedly over-joyed, while Ian looked decidedly neutral, as always. They began paddling their way to a buoy a long ways out, with Rachel's chipper command coming from the dock.  
  
"Why is she so overly cheerful all of a sudden?" Lizzie asked Gordo who was sitting up front.  
  
"I don't know, I guess she is trying to make a good impression," he said, turning back toward her. "Hey, do you think Charlotte is acting weird around me?"  
  
"Oh, I don't know, what do you mean?"  
  
"Well, I don't know, she's always standing next to me and stuff. And she shouted my name before," Gordo.  
  
"Well, I, I mean, maybe she...maybe she's just friendly," Lizzie stuttered.  
  
"Ok, what's the deal, McGuire?"  
  
"The deal? What deal? There is no deal!"   
  
  
  
Gordo stopped rowing and looked back at her, straight into her eyes. Lizzie felt incredibly guilty, and there was nothing she could do but tell him the truth.  
  
"Gordo...I...I kinda...I kinda told Charlotte you liked her," Lizzie explained, "But I mean, she asked about that ghost story you told, and I was going to say you made it up, and then, I don't know, I just said you liked her, and I know it's a complete lie, and I don't know what..."  
  
"Lizzie, it's not a big deal," Gordo said as he started paddling again.  
  
"What? Are you serious? It's not a big deal?" Lizzie asked awestruck.  
  
"No, I mean, so what if she thinks that? She can think whatever she wants."  
  
"It's not true, is it? I mean, you don't actually like her, do you?"  
  
"No, no...don't be ridiculous," Gordo said.  
  
After canoeing, it was free swim. Miranda and Lizzie were hanging out on the beach, in their one-piece camp mandated swimsuits, with their toes in the water.  
  
"Lizzie, he's so cute!" Miranda swooned.  
  
"Yeah, he is pretty cute," Lizzie agreed staring at Ian, who was standing in the water. "He reminds me of someone, does he remind you of someone?"  
  
"Yeah, but I can't figure out who."  
  
"Me neither," Lizzie said with a puzzled look. "So, how was canoeing with the Tudge-Man."  
  
"Oh, God, it was awful! He would not shut up about Star Wars...or Star Trek..or Star Gate...or something. I don't know. But he was talking in this weird code."  
  
Lizzie made a face. "Sounds like fun."  
  
"Loads," Miranda said sarcastically.  
  
"Miranda?" Lizzie asked sincerely.  
  
"Uh-huh?"  
  
"Do you think Gordo likes Charlotte?"  
  
"What do you mean? Doesn't he? Isn't that what you told her?"  
  
"No...he doesn't. I made that up," Lizzie said biting her lip.  
  
"Oh, well she seems to think he does," Miranda said, "But I have no idea really, I haven't asked him. Oh well, it's not a big deal for making that up, it's not like you like him."  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie said, "Especially when we've got Ian around to stare at." 


	8. Movie Night

The kids gathered around the campfire prepared to sing songs in the spirit of the summer. Before they could even utter one word, it started to rain. It started lightly, but within minutes it was a full downpour. They quickly filed into the main hall, a bit wet, but wide-awake.  
  
"Movie night for the 12 and ups!" A counselor shouted. "The rest should report to the Bluejay Hall for games. Let's see...we have troop Beverly Hills, and Addams Family Values."  
  
A debate errupted over the acting ability of Tori Spelling, so the counselor promptly popped in Addams Family Values to end the matter. No Tori Spelling tonight. Folding chairs were brought out for the kids to sit in, but most of the kids found the floor far more comfortable.   
  
"Don't get too cuddly kids! We don't want any of that! Hey you two! Stop touching!" a counselor shouted at the kids.  
  
Lizzie managed to sit far away from Charlotte, and brought Miranda and Gordo with her. Unfortunately, Tudgeman's keen sense of vision, brought on by many hours trying to learn the force, led him right next to them.  
  
"Hey guys," Larry asked, "Mind if I sit here?"  
  
"Uh, no, go ahead," Lizzie said politely.  
  
All of the kids sprawled out of the floor, using sweatshirts and random beach towels as pillows. Gordo put his sweatshirt on the floor, and Lizzie and Gordo lay down on their stomachs with their chins rested in their hands, facing the screen.   
  
"Want some sweatshirt?" Lizzie asked Miranda.   
  
"No, I'm fine," Miranda laughed as she lay down next to Lizzie, with her head propped up on Lizzie's back. Previews started, and the counselors wouldn't fast-forward through them.  
  
"I love Addams Family Values," Miranda stated.  
  
"Really, me too," Tudgeman said.  
  
"Really? I thought you liked all those sci-fi movies." Miranda said puzzled.  
  
"I do. But there's nothing wrong with a good funny movie once in awhile."  
  
"Yeah," she agreed, trying to end the conversation.  
  
"I love the part where Wednesday's telling the story in the cabin about the noses," Tudgeman said.  
  
"Yeah, that's a good part," Miranda said absently.  
  
"Or when she let's the girl drown! That's priceless."  
  
"Yeah that was good," she said sitting up.  
  
"Or when they get sent to that little cabin and they have to watch Disney movies!"  
  
"I love that part!" Miranda laughed.  
  
"And the play at the end!"  
  
"Yeah I love that part too! And the crazy nanny!" Miranda said enthusiastically.  
  
"Would you guys shut up?" a camper yelled. "You're gonna ruin it for us!"  
  
"Sorry," Miranda whispered, "And then she tries to kill him at the end!"  
  
"Yeah, I love this movie," Tudgeman sighed.  
  
"Me too," Miranda sighed.   
  
The movie started, and everyone was enjoying it. Miranda and Tudgeman whispered through the entire movie, talking about what was coming up, and what their favorite parts were. Halfway through, Lizzie started to feel really tired, dark rooms tended to do that to her, and she had gotten up really early that morning. She rested her head down on Gordo's sweatshirt.   
  
"You okay?" Gordo whispered while lightly touching her head.  
  
"Yeah," Lizzie whispered back. She breathed in the sweatshirt. It smelled like Gordo, of course. It smelled a bit like shampoo, a bit like the woods, and a bit the way his house smells. A simple smell triggered all of these memories. She imagined herself at home, lying around the couch with Miranda and Gordo, being complete couch potatoes while watching movies. Her memories started becoming fuzzy, and dream-like, until she fell asleep.  
  
"Lizzie," Gordo whispered in her ear, "Movie's almost over, you might want to wake up before they turn the lights back on."  
  
Lizzie perked up. "Thanks Gordo," she said sleepily.  
  
"Oh I love the end, I love the end!" Miranda whispered loudly.  
  
"Oh yeah, it's the best part," Tudgeman agreed.  
  
"Did they talk the entire movie?" Lizzie asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I kinda blocked them out," Gordo whispered back.  
  
"Miranda is turning into a film geek," Lizzie decided.   
  
"Like me," Gordo said, nudging her.  
  
Lizzie laughed. The movie finished and the campers were told to go back to their cabins, so the they got in their cabin groups and headed for the door. Lizzie and Gordo waved goodbye and made a mad dash through the rain to their cabins. Halfway there Lizzie realized she forgot Miranda. She ran back, and by the time she got back to the hall she was completely soaked to the core.   
  
"Miranda! What are you doing?" Lizzie yelled at her.   
  
Miranda was standing on the other side of the room talking to Larry. "I'll be right there!" Miranda shouted to her.   
  
Lizzie stood with her hands on her hips, dripping, while Miranda ran over to her. "OK, am I in some alternate universe, or did I just come running through the pouring rain to find you here with Larry??!" Lizzie asked her.  
  
"He just wanted to tell me something about the movie. No big deal," Miranda said nonchalantly.  
  
"No big deal? I'm wet!" Lizzie said.  
  
Miranda gave Lizzie her sweatshirt. However it didn't do much good in the rain. When they got back to the cabin everyone asked where they had been.  
  
"Oh I couldn't find my uh...sweatshirt," Miranda said, "and here it is!" she said tugging at the sweatshirt Lizzie was wearing. "Lizzie had it."  
  
Jessie and Jenna looked at them like they were crazy.  
  
  
  
Lizzie and Miranda shot them a look and changed into dry clothes and went to bed. 


	9. Woe is Lizzie

The next morning, Lizzie and Miranda were walking to a cabin group activity. They were walking quickly to keep up with the group who was heading to the rock-climbing wall.

"So, what's the deal with Tudgeman?" Lizzie asked.

"Lizzie, come on, there is no deal with Tudgeman," Miranda stated.

Out of no where, Tudgeman popped up. "So Miranda, is our date still on for tonight?"

Miranda laughed nervously.

"I'll take that as a yes," Tudgeman said as he darted off.

"A date? With Tudgeman?" What happened to you thinking he was the grossest human being on the planet?" Lizzie asked.

Miranda sped up and avoided eye contact with Lizzie. "Well it's not a date, technically. He just wants to sneak some ice creams and go sit on the pier. And he's not that gross. You know, when he washes his hair."

Lizzie smiled contentedly. Her friend had finally come around to a person who she knew wasn't so bad. "Good, because you know, he's a good guy."

"Did I just hear what I think I heard?" Jessie asked. "You have a date…with Larry Tudgeman! You've got to be kidding me!"

"No I don't! He just thinks we do! I wouldn't go near him if my life depended on it! He is so disgusting!" Miranda shouted.

"Miranda!" Lizzie shouted appalled. Then she looked over and saw Larry standing not more than 20 feet away. He had heard everything and quickly walked up to Miranda.

"Busted," Jessie said under her breath.

"You know, I thought you were different from the rest of these…lemmings," Tudgeman said. "Not you, Lizzie." He added before he darted in the other direction.

"Larry wait!" Miranda shouted bolting after him. "Larry!" She finally caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder.

He swung around. "What Miranda?"

"I just, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of what I said. I don't even know why I said it. I don't care what Jessica Alasdiar thinks of me. Honestly, I don't. I don't care that she knows that I want to be your friend."

"Good. That's…good. You shouldn't care. But you know what? I'm not going to waste my time with you. Do you know how I've been treated my whole life? Just like this. Like crap. My life may be strange, but it's no joke, Miranda!"

"I know that, Larry, believe me, I really am sorry. Can we just…forget I said anything. You know, start over."

"Ok fine. So, hi Miranda," he said quickly.

"Hi…Larry."

"You still want to go to the pier tonight?" Larry asked.

"I'd love to," she said smiling.

"Oh, well I do too, just not with you."

"Tudgeman!" Miranda yelled at him, but he just kept walking. She stood there dumbfounded.

Lizzie walked over to her. She hated the way Miranda treated Larry behind his back. "Nice going, Miranda. Very swift," she said sarcastically.

"Lizzie, I don't want to hear it," Miranda said gloomily.

"Sorry, Miranda. "Maybe it's not even worth it," she said trying to cheer up Miranda,

"Not even worth it? Not even worth it? You just told me he was a good guy!" Miranda said angrily.

"No, Miranda, I didn't mean it like that! I just meant you could stand being a little nicer sometimes, and if you can't be nice to him then maybe it isn't worth it." Lizzie said honestly.

"A little nicer? I told him I was sorry!" Miranda shouted over her shoulder as she stalked off in the direction of Tudgeman.

Oh great, what did I do now? Lizzie asked herself as she walked toward the rock-climbing wall. It seems whenever she tried to help someone, everything came out wrong, and she made it even worse. Now who could she be friends with at this camp? Certainly not Charlotte, she was too preoccupied with Gordo. And definitely not Jessie or Jenna, they were far too, well, Kate-ish.

When she reached the rock-climbing wall, Miranda was no where to be seen, but she noticed Gordo's cabin group was there too. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she saw him standing there. She started over toward him, but noticed Charlotte standing close to him, getting the ropes ready. Lizzie abruptly stopped.

"Gordo, will you help me with these ropes?" Charlotte asked.

"Of course," he said smiling as he untangled the ropes that were hanging down off the wall.

Lizzie had an overwhelming feeling of rejection. She didn't want to be at the rock-climbing wall. She didn't even want to be at camp anymore. She sidled up to Rachel. "I don't feel very well, I'm going to go sit down over there," she told Rachel.

"Okay, McGuire, I don't want you getting any sicker."

Lizzie sat down on a large rock away from everyone. She had come here with her two best friends and neither of them seemed to want to be around her anymore. She just wished her mom would suddenly appear through the trees and hug her and tell her everything would be all right. She could feel tears forming in her eyes and a lump in her throat as she thought about her mom.

"You okay, Lizzie?" Rachel said walking slowly over.

"I don't know," Lizzie croaked as she wiped away tears with the back of her hand. "I just try to be nice to everyone. And not just because I have to, but because I want to. And now, I have no friends."

"Oh come on, what about Miranda?"

"She hates me."

"Oh I bet that's not true. And what about Gordo over there?"

"I don't know. He's with Charlotte. I bet they're gonna get married," she said bitterly.

"I hate to say it, but maybe you're a little well…" Rachel started as she leaned her head into Lizzie's, "…jealous," she whispered.

Lizzie didn't say anything, she just turned her blurry eyes toward Rachel, pondering this strange equation. Me? Jealous? Lizzie asked herself. Rachel put her arm around Lizzie and let her cry.

"It's possible," Lizzie said gazing over at Gordo as he was laughing with his cabin mates. Lizzie couldn't help but let out a little laugh when she saw him laughing.

"Everything's going to be okay," Rachel said comfortingly.

Rachel was no Jo McGuire, that's for sure, but some how she made Lizzie feel a little bit better.


	10. Friend or Foe

Note: I started this over two years ago and recently found finished chapters 9 & 10 in the deep recesses of my computer. I read over the story and thought, hey this is pretty good. It's mostly dialogue, but I guess that's because I'm writing a fanfic for a _television show_, which obviously consists mostly of dialogue. Anyway here they are...I'll probably continue it past chapter 10 so it's not sitting here unfinished for all enternity.

Lizzie was in no mood for free swim the next afternoon, but she really had no other choice. There was no way she was staying in the dark musty cabin alone. Miranda hadn't spoken a word to her since yesterday and had already left for the beach with Charlotte, Crystal, Jenna, and Jessie. Lizzie grabbed her towel and some sunscreen and started for the beach. As she walked along in her flip-flops she contemplated hiding out among the trees and not going at all, but she decided she would just look like a coward to Miranda.

Lizzie managed to walk on to the beach with her head held high. She plopped her towel down by the water and gazed out onto the lake. The glare made her squint, but she saw a bunch of people she recognized in the water, including Charlotte and Gordo. Lizzie noticed Miranda sitting close by. Who are those girls she's with? Lizzie wondered to herself. She realized they were Jessie and Jenna and her jaw dropped. Jessie and Jenna? Since when were they friends? With a sigh, Lizzie sat down. Everyone around her was laughing and having a great time, and suddenly staying alone in the cabin seemed much more appealing. But she knew she couldn't leave now. She sprawled out on her towel and strained to hear everyone's conversations around her.

"My mom sent me this suntan lotion from the Bahamas," Jessie said, "It has an SPF of 4, which means you'll get an excellent tan, and it has coconut oil extracts!"

Lizzie looked over at her own SPF 30 sunscreen with a big smiling sun on it. She slid it under her towel so that no one could see.

"SPF 4? Isn't that like, unhealthy?" Miranda asked stunned.

"4? No. SPF 2, maybe," Jenna said simply.

Lizzie chuckled to herself, but tried to pretend she wasn't listening.

"Well, anyway, my mom's actually in the Bahamas right now. She said the humidity is really bad this time of year! She's used to the country club scene you know, and it's just too hot to play golf down there…" Jessie started.

At that Lizzie sat up and looked out onto the water. She didn't want to hear about her superficial life anymore. She saw Gordo with Charlotte and Crystal doing cannonballs off the floating dock. How badly she wanted to go out there, but for some reason she couldn't make her self do it. She gritted her teeth at the sight of Charlotte and the pretentious manner she adopted when she was around Gordo. She wanted to go out there and tell Charlotte exactly what she thought of her. Gordo was her friend, not Charlotte's! But Lizzie knew if she went out there the moment she was ready to zing, there would be no zinging. Instead she'd end up saying something nice about the weather.

She swallowed her fear and stood up preparing to step into the lake, but she physically couldn't. She looked out at Gordo and Charlotte in the water. At that moment she realized she was completely and totally jealous of Charlotte. Rachel was right. However, the reason WHY she was jealous still hadn't crept into her mind.

"Gordo! Hey Gordo!" Lizzie shouted to her friend as she walked into the water.

Gordo turned around. "Lizzie! Hey!" He swam over to her. "Hey, where have you been? I've been waiting around for you," he said.

"Really? Oh, I, uh, just got here a second ago," she lied.

"Oh, okay, so are you coming in?" Gordo asked, splashing her a little.

"Nah, that's ok, I'll just stay here," she said fakely.

"Do you want me to stay here with you?"

"No, I'm fine, I just want to lay out in the sun anyway," Lizzie told him.

"Ok, see ya at dinner, then?"

"Yep, see you," she said as she sat down.

At dinner Miranda avoided Lizzie like the plague. Lizzie was sitting with Gordo and Ian and some of their cabin mates, while Miranda sat on the other side of the mess hall with Jenna and Jessie.

"What's with her?" Gordo asked referring to Miranda.

"I don't know," Lizzie said, "Maybe she just wants to make some new friends."

"With them? Yeah right. You're not talking are you?"

"Wow, you're good," Lizzie said amazed. "No, we kinda had this fight. You know, it wasn't as much of a fight as it was a squabble."

"You know what I always do when I'm in a fight with a friend?" Ian interrupted, "I make them a mix tape."

"A mix tape? She's not my boyfriend! And this isn't some WB drama! Besides, we're at camp, how am I going to make one here?"

"Oh yeah, good thinking, McGuire," Ian said tapping his head.

"You know you remind me of someone," Gordo blurted out, "Do you happen to know a guy by the name of Ethan Craft?"

"Ethan Craft! He's my cousin, Gord-on! Aw man, he's the best," Ian said.

"Your cousin?" Lizzie asked astonished. "Well that explains a lot!" Lizzie exclaimed thinking about how gorgeous yet moronic both of them are.

Just then Miranda came by with an empty tray. "Hey Gordo, tell Lizzie that I'm going somewhere tonight, just so she doesn't worry about me okay?"

"Hey Miranda, Lizzie's right here," Ian said as Miranda walked away.

"Why does she think I'd worry about her?" Lizzie asked.

"I dunno, maybe, she knows deep down you guys are still friends," Gordo said.

Lizzie just gave him a look and went back to her macaroni and cheese.

Miranda pretended to go to the girls bathroom, but instead slipped out a screen door. She made sure no one saw her as she walked toward the water. It was getting dark. The air was chilly and the bugs were starting to come out. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light as she walked toward the beach. She reached the pier, and just as she thought, Larry Tudgeman was sitting at the end of it with his legs dangling off.

"I thought you'd be here," Miranda said as she got closer.

"Well this is my favorite spot in the entire camp," Larry said plainly without turning around.

Miranda sat down next to him with her legs dangling off like Larry's.

"Nutty Buddy?" Larry offered.

"Thanks," she said, taking the ice cream and peeling off the wrapper.

"This is really beautiful," Miranda said eating her ice cream, "Do you come here every day?"

"At sunset."

Miranda nodded and listened to the gentle waves lap up on shore for a moment.

"That's when I can best see the planet Zarcon and communicate with the Zarconiains."

Miranda shot him a look.

"Kidding. Kidding. You know, I'm not always all that sci-fi space age weirdo stuff."

Miranda just sat there for a moment trying to build up some courage. "Listen Larry, I'm so sorry about anything I said. I really didn't mean it, honestly. I don't even know why I said it."

"So is insulting me just an impulse to you?" Larry asked.

"No, no it's not like that. I just have so many insecurities about everyone here. None of those girls understands me. Except for Lizzie of course, but now she's not even my friend. Anyway, you actually get me, you know? And that's scary, because I never thought you would."

"It's okay, Miranda, I forgive you," he said touching her hand slightly. "Some night you'll have to come out here when the stars are out. I can point out the stars to you."

"Okay, sure," Miranda said. "Hey Tudge, I'm glad everything is okay between us."

"Yeah me too."

"It's getting dark, we should really get going," Miranda said, standing up.

"No, you go. I'm gonna stay awhile."

"Are you sure?"

"I don't want you to get cold. Besides, I need to look at the planet alignment and see if conditions are favorable for a Nebutron shift."


	11. Attention Campers

"Up and at 'em girls! We have no time to waste!" Rachel yelled.

Rachel's voice slowly crept into her dream, weaving in with the images and voices mixing around in her head. As she progressed through that state of waking, everything stayed just a little bit fuzzy. In that state, everything was fine, and it was morning, how couldn't it be? But something tugged at the back of her mind as if there was something she was _supposed _to be worrying about, but she couldn't figure out what. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks, and she suddenly sat up, completely awake. Oh right, Miranda's not speaking to me, she thought.

In Lizzie's mind, or any 14-year-old's mind, being in a fight with her best friend was one of the worst possible things that could ever happen. She glanced down at Miranda's bunk, but she had already woken and was on the other side of the cabin getting ready with Jessie and Jenna. By the time Lizzie had gotten dressed everyone else was ready and waiting.

"Let's GO Lizzie," Jessie called impatiently from the porch.

"Yeah, yeah," Lizzie muttered under her breath as she hobbled getting her shoes on. "Hey Jessie, since when are YOU the counselor?" Lizzie asked, walking out the door, with her hands on her hips.

"Since Rachel designated me to be for the morning, since she just left for official business she had to take care of," Jessie responded, matter-of-factly.

Embarrassed Lizzie just zipped up her sweatshirt and grumbled to herself as she followed the girls to breakfast. The only solace she felt was that she would get to see Gordo in a few minutes. She walked behind the misery triplets the whole way, while Charlotte and Crystal followed sleepily behind her.

"So I got a letter from my boyfriend yesterday," Jessie said in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Really? What did it say?" Miranda asked earnestly.

_Ugh. I can't believe Miranda is actually acting like her friend,_ Lizzie thought.

"Well, he said that he was coming back from Spain this week, and was coming to visit me at camp! He said he had lots of Spanish presents for me. I can't wait!" Jessie squeeled.

Lizzie just rolled her eyes and tugged her hood over her head.

"You're allowed to have visitors like that?" Jenna asked.

"Well no, not exactly," Jessie responded, "but we'll arrange something. I'm calling him on the pay phone as soon as I get to breakfast. Hopefully the time-zones match up."

"Well at least you'll get to talk to him," Miranda said cheerily.

"Yeah, he's the best. He spends all his money on me. And why wouldn't he want to? I mean look at me…" Jessie went on.

Again the conversation was dominated by Jessie's superficial droning. _Why on earth is Miranda going along with this?_ Lizzie thought. Lizzie tried to block out their conversation the rest of the way.

When they reached the mess hall Lizzie found Gordo's table and sat down. A wave of relief passed over her.

"Lizzie! Why the long face?" Ian called to her from the other side of the table.

Lizzie just looked at him and tried to smile, but it just came out falsely like she had just painted it on.

Gordo looked at Lizzie, then over at Miranda, on the opposite side of the hall. "Still not talking to her?" He asked.

"Nope. And it looks like she's taken up with lame-o number one and lame-o number two," she said looking at Jessie and Jenna. She let out a sigh and put her head down.

A counselor started talking over the din. "Attention campers!"

Lizzie lifted her head up in an instant.

"You may be wondering why some of your counselors weren't there when you walked to breakfast! Well, we have a big surprise for you! We were planning the annual canoe race!"

A wave of excitement spread across the hall as the campers started cheering. A huge grin spread across Lizzie's face. Now here was something she could really look forward to!

"Past campers know this is one of Camp Meadowlake's oldest and most enjoyable events! As you know, this is a partners race, so you must choose a partner, and choose him or her wisely!"

"Gordo-will-you-be-my-partner?" Lizzie blurted out.

"Of course, Lizzie," he said without missing a beat.

"Great," she said looking over furiously at Charlotte. "You promise?" She asked.

"I promise," he answered, looking her straight in the eye.

The counselor went on, "You all will be practicing today, and the race is in three days! So have your partners picked by the time you get to practice today! So have a great time, and let's get this breakfast started!"

After breakfast, all the girls but Lizzie walked back to their cabin. Lizzie had enough of listening to Jessie and Miranda, so she stayed back in the mess hall.

"I'll see you at canoe practice!" Lizzie shouted to Gordo as he walked with Ian out of the mess hall.

"Yep, I'll save you a spot in the canoe!" He shouted back over his shoulder.

Lizzie watched everyone leave and she sat down thinking about how great the canoe race would be.

Meanwhile the misery triplets continued their conversation on the way back to the cabin.

"Did you call your boyfriend?" Jenna asked.

"I did, but he wasn't there! He _knew_ I was going to be calling. I left him a voice-mail yesterday telling him so. So I left another one telling him what an idiot he was! He knows I can't get to the phone that often!" Jessie said, sounding aggravated.

"You shouldn't call him an idiot," Miranda said.

"And what do you know about boyfriends? You don't even have one. Oh wait, yes you do! His name is Larry Tudgeman! And what a catch he is," she said sarcastically.

Jessie had touched a nerve in Miranda. "You're right, he is a catch! And if you had any sense in you, you'd find a guy half as decent as he is, not some guy who spends all his free time in Spain and avoids your phone calls because he can't stand spending time with someone so obnoxiously arrogant!" Miranda screamed at her.

"Well well, looks like we have a little spitfire on our hands," Jessie said.

"That's the best you can come up with? You know, I don't even want to hear the rest, because I really don't care about anything you talk about!" Miranda shouted as the group went on ahead of her.

Miranda crossed her arms and kept stationary as the others continued walking.

Meanwhile, Lizzie thought it was safe to leave the mess hall. No Miranda's, no Charlotte's, no Jessie's in sight. As long as they stayed out of her way, she'd stay out of there's, she thought to herself as she walked back to the cabin. It wasn't her fault she got stuck with the worst bunk ever.

"Hey." Lizzie heard a voice say flatly. She looked up. Miranda was standing there, arms still crossed.

"What are you doing here?" Lizzie asked.

"Standing," she said wryly.

Lizzie wasn't in the mood for her attitude. "You know, why don't you just go back to Jessie and Jenna!" She shouted at her.

"I don't even _like_ Jessie and Jenna!" Miranda hollered back.

"Well, you seemed pretty friendly on the beach yesterday!" Lizzie argued.

"Well, that's only because you were mad at me, and you're my best friend here!" Miranda shouted.

"Well, you…" Lizzie started, but she couldn't finish. The look in Miranda's eyes said it all. They were best friends, and she couldn't even remember why they were fighting in the first place.

Miranda broke the silence. "Ugh! Look, I don't want to _fight_ anymore! You were right, _okay_? I _was _mean to Larry. And all because I didn't want to look like an idiot in front of Jessie. Which is completely ridiculous because I care _ten_ times more about what Larry thinks than what old what's-her-name thinks!" She exclaimed. "And I care even more about what you think. I don't want you to think I'm mean," she said calmly.

"Miranda, you're not mean, I'm sorry. I should have never said anything," Lizzie said softly.

"You were only trying to help," Miranda said.

Lizzie sighed. A tiny smirk crept across her face. "Friends?" She asked, sticking out her hand.

"Friends." Miranda agreed, shaking it.

The two started walking back to the cabin together. Lizzie felt a glimmer of hope that maybe this summer would turn out like she had planned after all.


	12. Late

As the two friends walked back to their cabin, the conversation was full of everything they had missed out on telling each other over the past few days. As Miranda blabbed on about Larry, Lizzie thought how she would try her best to make sure nothing came between them for the rest of the summer. Not Larry, not Jessie, nobody. Their friendship was too strong to succumb to all this petty drama.

Miranda was still gushing about Larry, and could not seem to help herself, as if she had been holding it in for years.

"…so I should really talk to him, you know, tell him well, you know…" she said vaguely, but Lizzie seemed to understand right away.

"So things are okay between you to?" asked Lizzie.

"Yeah, I think so," Miranda answered.

"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Lizzie squealed, clapping her hands together.

"Yeah, I just hope he feels the same way about me," Miranda said hesitantly.

"Oh, please, of course he does. Everyone knows he's completely in love with you. Even when he's acting like he's mad at you, I know he still likes you." Lizzie said reassuringly.

"I hope so," Miranda answered hopefully. "So how do you think I should approach this? 'Hey Larry, there comes a time in every girls life…" Miranda said, sounding like she was giving a lecture at Hillridge Jr. High.

"No," Lizzie giggled, shaking her head.

"How about…" Miranda had started to say, but her voice trailed off as the two girls peered into the doorway of their cabin. A shocked looked came upon both their faces when they saw that the cabin was deserted.

"Omigosh, where is everybody?" Lizzie asked worriedly.

Miranda furrowed her brow and looked around the cabin, as if she were half expecting to find them all hiding under their bunks. "I don't know, I thought the schedule said we had half an hour free until Arts & Crafts."

Lizzie thought back to breakfast. "They must have changed everything around for that canoe race," Lizzie said agitatedly. She cleared her head. "Okay, you go to Arts & Crafts. I'll go to the beach. If there's no one at either, we'll meet half way in between," she asserted.

"Okay, good plan," Miranda confirmed.

The two took off in opposite directions. No matter which activity they were supposed to be at, Lizzie knew they were going to be in trouble. What was it gonna be? No free swim? No phone calls? No ice cream for a week? Lizzie worried about her impending fate as she rounded the bend to the beach. Dozens of kids were swarming the area, tugging at their canoes. And even more were in the water, paddling about.

Lizzie quickly scanned the crowd for a familiar face. Her eyes locked on Gordo, paddling back toward shore in a bright red canoe. And who was that with him? Lizzie squinted her eyes to see. Gordo tilted slightly to the right as he paddled to reveal his passenger. Lizzie felt a pang of shock right in the stomach. _Oh no! It was Charlotte_, Lizzie thought_. Of all people! _Gordo reached the shore, and with the help of Charlotte, hoisted the canoe onto the sandy beach. They were working together as a happy team, like they had done it a million times before. A mixture of emotion started overwhelming Lizzie. She could start to feel her blood starting to boil, but simultaneously she felt extreme disappointment and sorrow.

"Here you are!" Miranda exclaimed from behind her. "We should probably get in the water!"

Lizzie jumped at the sound of Miranda's voice from behind her. She tried to snap out of the overwhelming feelings, but she couldn't shake them off. "Um yeah, you go get the life jackets. I've got something to take care of," Lizzie said, as if she were about to cry.

Lizzie watched Miranda walk around the back of the canoe shed. Lizzie started over toward Charlotte and Gordo, but stopped midway, trying to gain her confidence. Once Charlotte had walked away, Lizzie took a deep breath and stomped right up to him. She opened her mouth to yell, but before she could even say a word he blurted out, "Lizzie, I'm sorry," like a small child who had known exactly what he had done wrong.

But Lizzie didn't want to hear any apologies, she didn't even want an explanation, nothing could make her feel better. "You broke your promise Gordo! You promised me you would be my partner!" Lizzie shouted, waving her arms in fury.

"I know, Lizzie, there was nothing I could do!" He said genuinely.

Lizzie could feel her heart slowly starting to ache. "But you broke your promise," Lizzie repeated, crossing her arms.

He looked at her, pleading with his eyes for forgiveness. "Listen, when I came down here, I couldn't find you, so of course I waited." He started to explain.

Lizzie just tapped her fingers on her arm, staring at him.

"Rachel told everyone to find a partner, and I told her you were mine but hadn't shown up yet. She just told me 'too bad' and practically forced me into the canoe with Charlotte. I had no choice! You've got to understand," he said.

"So, you two just sailed off into the sunset!" Lizzie snapped.

Gordo himself was starting to get a bit annoyed that Lizzie was being so unreasonable. "Listen, if you didn't want to be partnered up with Miranda, there were plenty of other people…" he started.

"Lizzie, are you coming!" Miranda interrupted from the edge of the beach.

"Yeah, I'll be right there!" Lizzie yelled back.

"Wait, you're speaking to Miranda now?" he asked, surprised.

"We made up this morning after breakfast," she said matter-of-factly.

"I thought this was about you not wanting to be partnered up with Miranda!" he yelled angrily.

"You still don't get it. Why don't you go make sandcastles with Charlotte," she said, gesturing her head toward Charlotte and Crystal. She turned around and started walking gloomily back to Miranda.

"Alright, let's get in the water, Lizzie," Miranda said.

Lizzie didn't say anything, and just put on her life jacket forcefully. Only until she tried buckling it did she realize it was upside-down.

"Hey Lizzie, is everything okay?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah it's nothing. Gordo and I just…disagree about something," Lizzie said glumly, walking toward the canoes.

"Disagree about what?" Miranda asked, following her.

"Wait! Where do you two think you're going?" Rachel's voice boomed.

Uh-oh, busted, Lizzie thought, but followed suit with Miranda, who didn't seem to detect the graveness of the situation.

"Um…in the water?" Miranda said sarcastically over her shoulder.

"No way. You guys were late to practice today," Rachel said.

The girls spun around. "By, like, ten minutes!" Lizzie argued.

"Try 15. And anyway, you missed the most important part: instructions!" Rachel exclaimed.

"How hard can it be? Get in the canoe and paddle," Miranda said hotly as she edged toward the water.

"Freeze Sanchez! I'm afraid you two are going to have to sit the boat race out!" Rachel commanded.

At this point, Lizzie was incredibly angry. Rachel could not have picked a worse time to pick a fight. "It's not our fault! We were supposed to have free-time after breakfast!" Lizzie said angrily.

"Well you were late getting back, so you didn't hear our change of plans, now did you?" Rachel said curtly.

"But you could have left a--" Lizzie started.

"Look," Rachel interrupted, "I'm not arguing with you anymore. You're big girls who are old enough to know where they're supposed to be! Now I suggest you don't get into any more trouble until I've spoken to the director about your punishment. But hopefully missing the race is punishment enough!" Rachel stormed off to help some kids who were actually going to be in the boat race.

"So much for being a nice counselor," Lizzie muttered.

"Tell me about it," Miranda agreed. "Well if we can't even participate, I'm not hanging around here. I'm gonna go get something to drink, wanna come? Maybe talk about what's bugging you?"

"Nah…I'm just gonna go back to the cabin," Lizzie answered.

"Okay, I'll bring you back something," Miranda said.

Lizzie gave a weak smile and walked back toward her cabin alone.


	13. Sailing into the Sunset

Miranda shuffled to the mess hall with only the idea of a thirst-quenching drink on her mind. As she walked through the door, she stopped in her tracks at the sight.

"Tudgeman!" Miranda exclaimed. "Why aren't you at canoe practice? Our whole group's there."

Larry walked toward her but darted his eyes around uncomfortably. "I um…get seasick canoeing," he said hastily.

"Really? I had no idea a person could get seasick canoe--" Miranda started to say.

"I knew you wouldn't remember," Larry interrupted.

"Remember what?" she asked.

"I don't get seasick canoeing, okay? That was just a test," he said hastily.

"Hmm, not following," Miranda said.

"Do you remember the first day of camp? Well not your first day-- my first day. I didn't start out very well; I was just getting over rickets, I was the new kid, I had to sleep in Gordo's smelly bunk--"

"Hey Gordo doesn't smell!" Miranda laughed.

"Well you've obviously never smelled his Brawny Man Aftershave. Anyway, we went canoeing that day. You and me. Remember?"

Miranda was struck the guilt, she honestly couldn't remember. "No, sorry, I don't," she said, unable to meet his eyes.

"Well you were my partner," Larry continued, "And I know you probably didn't even want to be, and I was totally annoying you, but you still agreed to be."

Miranda smiled a little.

"I just wanted to see if you remembered. Because I certainly didn't get seasick, in fact, it was the complete opposite. Somehow, riding in that canoe, I knew you and I would be friends this summer."

An image of the two of them riding in a canoe flashed into her mind. "I remember now," Miranda said.

Larry grinned. "And then when I saw those canoes today I just knew I had to ask you if…" Larry trailed off.

"Larry, I…" Miranda interrupted because she was too scared to hear what Larry was going to ask. Not because she didn't want to hear it from Larry, but because no one had ever made her feel this way.

"Yeah?" Larry asked.

"I…I shouldn't be here. I'm in big trouble," Miranda stuttered.

"Okay, but will you promise me something. No matter what happens for the rest of the summer, will you promise me that next year, when we get to high school, you won't completely ignore me?" He asked sincerely.

"Ignore you? How could I? You really think I would after this summer?" Miranda asked, stunned.

"Well, I've always liked you Miranda, but it's always been quite obvious you haven't always felt the same way. But now, I was hoping, maybe you liked me too, or could at least tolerate me."

"Yeah, I was hoping you would have figured that out by now," Miranda said, looking awkwardly off to the side.

"Cool. That's all I needed to know. Have fun being in trouble!"

"Thanks," Miranda laughed as she started toward her cabin.

Lizzie could feel herself losing her senses as she paced back to the cabin. How could it be just a few minutes ago, everything was perfect, and now everything was turned upside-down? How is it possible that Gordo chose Charlotte over her? It was like a bad dream she couldn't wake up from, no matter how hard she tried. It seemed like he was genuinely having fun with Charlotte. In fact, it always seemed like they had fun together.

_Why should I care anyway_, she thought as she marched on. I should be happy for them. They would probably make a cute coup--, but Lizzie couldn't even bear thinking of it. Why am I so upset over this, Lizzie thought, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. What's the big deal? So they like each other.

But deep down, Lizzie knew exactly why she couldn't stand seeing them together. When she reached the cabin she climbed up to her top bunk and buried her face in her pillow. She wasn't there long when she started hearing muffled shouts coming from outside. She lifted her face out of the pillow for a moment and could hear Gordo shouting her name.

"Lizzie!" Gordo shouted up to the cabin window. "Lizzie!" He shouted again. Lizzie just lay there with her face in the pillow. She didn't want to have anything to do with him. "Lizzie McGuire!" He kept shouting. But Lizzie knew if she didn't tell him to shut up, they'd both be in trouble for having him near the girls cabins. She got up to the window so she could just make out his figure through the dirty screen.

"What Gordo?" she said with a quivering voice through the screen.

"Lizzie, just hear me out. Will you let me in?"

"No, Gordo," she said sternly.

"Come on Lizzie, I just need to talk to you. Please? Please please please?" he begged.

"Fine," she said as she went to open up the screen door. Gordo looked into her red eyes and could see she had been crying. His eyes widened.

"Oh, no," he said softly. "I'm sorry. I don't want to see you this sad."

"Well I am sad, Gordo. Why didn't you--" but she couldn't finish as she started tearing up again and started staring at her feet.

"Lizzie I wanted to be your partner. I did," he said honestly. He regained his composure and spoke squarely and slowly. "And you know that. Deep down you do. I would never want to purposely hurt you. And I know you know that too."

Lizzie continued staring at her feet.

"Lizzie? What's so interesting on that floor? Lizzie, do you hear me?"

"I know, Gordo," she said through the tears, still looking that the floor. "Of course you wouldn't purposely want to hurt me. But if you're happy with her then, I don't…" she trailed off.

"With who? With Charlotte? Who said I was happy with her? Lizzie I wanted to be with _you!_"

Lizzie looked up. "So you never liked her?"

"Well to be perfectly honest, when I first realized she might like me, it sent my mind spinning. I mean, here was a girl who actually liked _me_ more than a friend. So I tried looking at her differently, but it didn't work. You can't _make_ yourself like someone just because they liked you first."

"No you can't _make_ yourself like _any_body," Lizzie said.

"So listen, of all the people in this camp, of…of all the people in the _world_, it's you I want to be stuck in a canoe with," he said, trying not to sound too mushy.

"Stuck?" she asked gasping.

"You know what I mean," he said smirking. "You're not like Charlotte. I don't know, I- I look forward to just _seeing_ you. I like when you sit with me at breakfast just so I can try to make you smile. And best of all, I like you, for you. Not some idea of you I've built up in my mind that you could never live up to, like those girls in junior high."

"I--" Lizzie started.

"And even if you don't like me back," Gordo interrupted, "it doesn't change anything. I still like you, Lizzie."

Lizzie just smiled and sighed. She felt her heart racing furiously. This was the one thing she had been waiting to hear all summer, maybe even her whole life. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and without another word, kissed him.

It just lasted a second, but suddenly everything felt different. Not only had the anger and hurt she had felt moments before completely melt away, but she knew things between her and Gordo would never be the same.

"I hope you get it now," she whispered.

"Well, yeah, I'm not that dense…" he said stifling a laugh.

All she could do was stare at him and sigh. He's so adorable, she thought. Look at him standing there all awkwardly. Everything felt perfect. It was cosmic. The stars were aligned, and all that crap.

Gordo stepped forward and grabbed her hand. "Lizzie McGuire…"

Lizzie's eyes popped out of her head. Uh-oh, is he going to propose, she thought.

"…Will you be my canoe partner?" Gordo asked with these kind of sad, pathetic eyes.

Lizzie stepped back. "I wish I could, but I can't. I was kicked out of the race for missing practice," she grumbled.

"I don't care," he said defiantly.

"What do you mean you don't care?" Lizzie questioned.

"I don't care. I'm going to get in that boat with you. I'll forfeit, I'll quit, I'll scream and yell, I'll throw Rachel in the water. Whatever it takes, Lizzie, I don't even care anymore," he said boldly.

"Okay, but only if you throw Charlotte in the water too," Lizzie bargained.

"Deal," he said, extending his hand.

Lizzie shook it, then grabbed his other hand, and started walking toward the beach.

"Lizzie!" Miranda called through the trees, "you'll never guess what happ…" Miranda stopped in her tracks at the sight of Lizzie and Gordo holding hands. "Whoa. I didn't know you guys were….I mean are you…or I mean how long have you…?"

Lizzie and Gordo looked at each other awkwardly, but their hands remained together.

"It sort of just…I kind of…" Lizzie started.

"Nevermind, forget I asked," Miranda said quickly, trying to avoid an awkard conversation, and started walking next to them. Miranda leaned back a little so only Lizzie could see her. "We'll talk later," she mouthed. Lizzie smiled.

Once they got to the beach the girls noticed Rachel helping some campers out of the water. They both tried their best to avoid her, and went to the opposite end of the beach. If they were going to be punished, it was better to steer clear of her at all costs, so the punishment wasn't extended. Gordo and Lizzie started untying one of the canoes from the dock.

Miranda could not believe what she was seeing. "Lizzie, what are you doing, do you know how much trouble you could get in?" she asked.

"I'm already in trouble Miranda," Lizzie said, strapping on her lifejacket.

"Alright I'm staying out of this one," Miranda said sitting down on the sand, watching the other boaters.

Rachel appeared out of nowhere. "Hey campers," she said with a somber tone. She bent down next to Miranda and Lizzie, who slyly started backing away from the canoe. "You guys, I'm really sorry I blew up at you. I talked with the assistant director, and we decided it was just miscommunication. Now, I still can't let you participate in the race since you missed an important practice, but I can let you use the canoes for fun if you want to. Sorry again guys," she said getting up to help some other camps.

"She's so weird," Miranda said shaking her head.

"Yeah tell me about it," Lizzie said, "She's always on such a power trip."

"Sorry, campers, it must have been miscommunication!" Miranda said in a mocking tone.

"Are you going to get in or what?" Gordo called from the back of the canoe.

"You heard her, I can't be in the race!" Lizzie called back.

Gordo walked toward the back of the boat. "I told you I didn't care!" he said laughing.

Lizzie smirked, tightened the bottom cord on her lifejacket and walked toward the front of the canoe.

"Ready?" Gordo said, getting ready to push off.

"Yeah, but I don't think Charlotte is," Lizzie said, her knuckles turning white from her firm grip.

Gordo spun around and saw Charlotte coming toward them.

Charlotte had her arms crossed in front of her, and a scowl on her face like she was ready for a catfight. "What took you so long, Gordo? And why are you with her?" Charlotte asked coldly.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I promised Lizzie I would be her partner," Gordo stated.

"But we were a team, we were going to win," she said cattily.

"Well you know what? Lizzie and I aren't even going to be in the race. So you're going to have to find someone else to win with," Gordo said.

Charlotte scoffed and glanced over at Miranda, who was intently covering her feet with sand.

"Don't look at me," Miranda said innocently, and Charlotte stormed off toward the boathouse.

"You know, she's probably going to go tattle on you," Lizzie suggested with a cringe.

"I know," Gordo said understatedly.

They pushed off from the beach and began paddling toward the horizon. Lizzie couldn't see Gordo, but just knowing he was back there, lending half of the power of the canoe they were both in was so comforting.

Lizzie gazed back to the shore and saw Tudgeman sit down next to Miranda. They laughed and looked like they were having the time of their lives, burying each other's feet in sand. Then she glanced at Gordo, and he winked at her.

At the beginning of the summer she was so nervous, leaving her mom, meeting all these new people, being on her own, not knowing whether she would sink or swim. But here she was, paddling along, and it didn't matter if she was in a race or not, because life was a race, and here she was moving forward, with nothing but open water ahead of her. She spent so much time worrying about what other people might think, or squabbling with her friends. Sometimes it's hard to remember that those little things that seem so important at the time don't matter, and in times of struggle the things that do matter stick by you. And those people were with her today. She glanced down at the dark water gliding by her. She heard nothing but her own and Gordo's swift strokes in the water. And even though the sun was still in the sky, if she closed her eyes, she could just imagine herself sailing into her own perfect sunset.


End file.
